Though it may not be the ideal, nearly four in 10 Americans say that it would be smarter for them to pay the fine that comes with not having a coverage policy in 2014 than to actually pay for one.
Just under 40 percent of respondents in a recent poll said that they would prefer to pay the $95 penalty – or 1 percent of their income, whichever is higher – than to spend their money on buying health insurance, assuming that they don't already have employee benefits.
Princeton Survey Research Associates International performed the study and queried participants by posing a scenario wherein they were a 45-year-old with a $50,000 annual wage. Based on estimates from different analyses, this individual would spend $3,000 for a year's worth of coverage. Failure to adhere to the law would result in a fine of $400.
Given the considerable discrepancy in cost, more than one-third said that they would rather pay the penalty.
That's not to say that everyone who was polled felt that way. For example, the PSRAI poll revealed that among 18-to-29-year-olds, nearly two-thirds said that they would buy health insurance. About 55 percent of adults 30 and older said the same.
Laura Adams, senior analyst for InsuranceQuotes.com, a comparison website that commissioned the poll, indicated that the fate of the ACA ultimately rides on young people and what decisions they make.
"One of the key questions surrounding the Affordable Care Act is whether or not young Americans – especially healthy young Americans – will sign up for health insurance," said Adams. "This research sheds a positive light on that segment of the population. However, it's concerning that about three in 10 Americans still don't know about the possible fines."
Despite the penalty, roughly 25 percent of individuals who don't have insurance plan to remain that way in 2014, according to a separate poll performed by Gallup.
